host: roger simon? guest: i would agree with all of that. what the former president did not mention was the accusations at the time that, in fact, only the hostages had not been freed, but ronald reagan and george bush were colluding with the government of iran to keep them hostage until after the election. we do not know if that is true or not, but it was certainly -- and also, president carter pledged to not actively campaign or not campaign very hard while the hostages were still hostage in tehran, and that made a difficult for them. ronald reagan was a very effective, very vigorous campaigner. jimmy carter's campaign style of the smiling, soft-spoken, amiable southerner was out of step with the mood of the country at the time. host: another point -- inflation = 18% home loans, which is what jimmy carter faced. guest: it was a time of stagflation, high inflation and a stagnant economy. usually, elections are decided on domestic issues. in extraordinary cases, vietnam, the hostage issue, they can be decided on foreign issues. in the case o

roger simon is chief political columnist for politico. you make the point today that he dopt seem to be getting another credit? certainly, the republicans are all over him. >>> barack obama, by necessity, not by choice, has really become a wartime president. he has had success in it. as you said, we killed osama bin laden, the embodiment of evil. we won a war in libya. we are pulling out of iraq. we killed al awlaki. yet, his republican opponents don't mention any of this. it used to be the republicans that are the strong war party. they have sort of switched back to their isolationist roots and the democrats have become strong on defense. >> in your column, on political, you quote, jfk saying, domestic policy can only defeat us. foreign policy can kill us. the point being that the stakes are so much bigger. domestic policy and the economy can defeat barack obama. >> absolutely. i am not saying that foreign policy will trump domestic policy by november of next year but there are two things to keep in mind about that. one, the very best th

it's also roger simon's question. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] indulge all you want. now there's no need to hold back. ♪ new revolutionary scope with dualblast technology obliterates strong food odors and kills bad breath germs leaving your breath minty fresh. hey. sorry i'm late, baby. i bet you're starving. [ male announcer ] so there's no trace of evidence... hey, i thought i did the dishes. [ male announcer ] blast away strong food odors and bad breath germs with new scope dualblast. also, try crest complete extra white with scope dualblast. >>> well, the iowa caucuses are coming up on january 3rd this year, right after new year's, and we've also got a new university of iowa poll out. herman cain right now is leading. look at these numbers. 37% of the vote out there in iowa right now. mitt romney's down at 27. that's quite a lead for that fellow from atlanta, followed by ron paul at 12. newt gingrich, rick perry, and michele bachmann are all down there in single digits. nothing s

roger simon, great to have you on. evan, thank you. i think we agree, the president deserves credit for the facts on the ground, as the right likes to say, because on the ground, he looks pretty good. it's up in the air where the bs flies that he's having a problem with the republicans. >>> up next, televangelist, of all people, pat robertson, is sounding the alarm bells about the republican presidential field going too far right. catch the sideshow, coming up next. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. why do we have aflac... aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy! [ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs a

host: roger simon? guest: i would agree with all of that. what the former president did not mention was the accusations at the time that, in fact, only the hostages had not been freed, but ronald reagan and george bush were colluding with the government of iran to keep them hostage until after the election. we do not know if that is true or not, but it was certainly -- and also, president carter pledged to not actively campaign or not campaign very hard while the hostages were still hostage in tehran, and that made a difficult for them. ronald reagan was a very effective, very vigorous campaigner. jimmy carter's campaign style of the smiling, soft-spoken, amiable southerner was out of step with the mood of the country at the time. host: another point -- inflation = 18% home loans, which is what jimmy carter faced. guest: it was a time of stagflation, high inflation and a stagnant economy. usually, elections are decided on domestic issues. in extraordinary cases, vietnam, the hostage issue, they can be decided on foreign issues. in the case o

a no-nonsense guy let his hair down with roger simon, who joins me now. we're not talking about that much hair, but we are talking about a very -- we're talking about a very unusual interview. what got into bill daley, except the fact you have known each other for 40 years and he was obviously, really venting. >> well, he was, and i think he was trying to explain just what was happening, that it has been in his terms, an ungodly three years, a brutal three years. >> use the term brutal, ungodly. >> incredible, difficult, and i think upon reflection, whether you hate president obama or like him, you would have to agree it's been a tough three years. >> there were a couple of f-bombs in there two. >> one, couple of s-bombs, but we deleted. i'm not sure people could really figure out what those words were. >> the fact is, there's a lot of frustration. do you get the idea it's obama? >> i asked him, he said people aren't going around with the hang dog look and tails between their legs, he said maybe they should be, but they are not. he has said that the presi

politico columnist roger simon dismissed the polls showing obama in trouble. "i say the poll gods are wrong. not only can obama be re-elected, but he's the favorite right now. why? because obama has one huge plus going for him. it's called the republican field. and republican voters agree with me, because if obama were really so weak a candidate, why would republicans keep looking for a messiah to save them? lousy economy and a dreadful war in afghanistan. but he also has some real accomplishments. he's a heck of a stump speaker and a pretty good debater and h. >> yeah. i think those are true points. the other thing is today, for example, in obama's speech, you see him lowering the bar. biden was out there too. they're saying, the economy is bad, it's worse than it was a year ago. it's worse than it was when i took office. he's basically taking the hit for the economy now, so that when it improves and upticks just a tiny bit, before november 2012, he gets credit for it. they're doing this now, they're laying the groundwork, and i think obama knows that he has

roger simon, reporter for "politico." and john aravosis, author of americablog.com. why are there so many debates? >> the debates are media driven. they're not driven by the candidates. the candidates do hate them not just because they're afraid of each other but because they take over the schedule. you have to go to where the debate is, even if you'd like to go california instead to raise money. you have to study. you can't afford to make any mistakes. what really benefit from the debates? the branding of the media on the backdrop behind them. we are pushing these debates. >> i would not quarrel that at all. the ratings pretty good this season. cnn got 5.5 million viewers for the most recent debate, fox got 6.5 million. in the sound bite, saying nothing more than to tear down the candidate. is he right? >> that comes from a candidate who's been torn down at the debates. >> he has the expertise on the subject. >> exactly. i wouldn't choose anybody else in that department. i think actually these have been some of the more interesting debates that we've had in any rece

it's also roger simon's question. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. [ mrs. davis ] i want to find a way to break through. to make science as exciting as a video game. i need to reach peter, who's falling behind. and push janet who's 6 chapters ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] with interactive learning solutions from dell, mrs. davis can make education a little more personal. so every student feels like her only student. dell. the power to do more. >>> well, the iowa caucuses are coming up on january 3rd this year, right after new year's, and we've also got a new university of iowa poll out. herman cain right now is lead -- look at these numbers. 37% of the vote out there in iowa right now.

simon, now a come lummist with politico. roger is along with us, our chief political analyst, gloria borger. you did this in his office, not over drinks. >> i did this in his office, not overdrinks. i'm not saying what happened afterwards. >> he says a number of things that are fascinating and interesting, he is a straight shoot somewhere a blunt talker and done mix his words. rahm emanuel his predecessor i'm not going to be leaker in chief. pretty much exposing rahm as leaker in chief. >> i don't think it's a surprise to any in the press corps but probably a surprise to the public. the relationship between the two is a little different than it is now. rahm is a dozen years downer than daly, daley preceded him in politics, government, into banking. and now all of a sudden ramh has jumped in to his father's and brother's job, and people are saying, he was a better chief of staff. a little friction there. >> a little friction there. listen to this, the president was on record as once saying if he's a one-term president, so be

. >> roger simon, a real turning point here. thank you very much for joining us today. >> on a busy news day and our breaking coverage continues next with dick durbin you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade and check my investment portfolio, research stocks, and set conditional orders. wait, why are you taking... oh, i see. hey max, would it kill you to throw a guy a warning bark? [ dog barks ] you know i wanted a bird. [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. ♪ [ female announcer ] mini™ meets berries. kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats cereal with a touch of fruit in the middle. helloooooo fruit in the middle. that's why i recommend crest pro-health clinical gum protection. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse i

. >> i think roger simon said it best. he said republicans' hearts are with herm an cain and their brains are with mitt romneyment we' romney. we'll see how it works out. thanks tim farley. >>> a four-hour fire fight, one of gadhafi's sons captured. rebels try to take full control of the loyalist's last strong hold. more details straight ahead. st w i want to do it ♪ ♪ changing of my mind ♪ it's just how we're gonna do it ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] turn your world upside down with gillette fusion proglide because you can shave against the grain with comfort. fusion proglide's microcomb guides hair for its thinner blades to cut close effortlessly. get against-the-grain closeness comfortably with gillette fusion proglide. get against-the-grain closeness comfortably can i help you? yeah, can i get a full-sized car? forfor convertibles, please stepress star one.ing menu. i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. representative. goodbye! you don't like automated customer service, an

you guys had an interview with bill daley i guess with roger simon and he didn't hold back. tell us about it. >> sometimes you get these great moments in journalism when you have the perfect combination of journalist and subject and that's what you have with roger simon our political columnist and bill daley. they've known each other close 240 years. rogers sat down with bill daley in is west wing. daley talks about the sense of embattlement. describes the last three years as brutal. a word he used several times. a couple of times ungodly. drops the f bomb a couple of times as if he's doing his best rahm emanuel impersonation. we don't do that. substantively what was most interest is daley talking about the president's strategy which is to rise above congress. he says he's frustrated, he describes his own frustration with congress and importantly says it's republicans and democrats, blames both parties for trying to block the president's momentum and initiatives. i don't think that will be received especially well by democrats up on capitol hill. but the theory is glide over

bill daly, the chief of staff, told politico this in a column with roger simon on friday, on the domestic side, daley said both democrats and republicans have made it very difficult for the president to be anything like a chief executive. this has led to a kind of frustration. let's figure out what we can do without congress, and push the envelope on some of these things. do-nothing democrats? >> no. if you look at where we are right now, trying to pass the american jobs act, cutting taxes for the middle class, putting construction workers and teachers back to work, pretty much everybody in the democratic party and washington governors out there are standing with the president. so there's only one reason, one reason we won't make a huge impact on the economy. and it's because the republican party, and i make this point -- >> but he singles out of the democrats. who and why are they doing that? >> well, listen right now, the situation beer in right now, the republican party, almost in unison here in washington, and let me make a point, the republicans out in the country, mainstream commons

roger simon writes on politico.com, the republican party is like the wizard of oz. rick perry wants a brain, mitt romney wants a heart and herman cain is seeking courage, courage to face the fact that he's never going to be the republican nominee, no matter how well he does in the polls. he needs the courage to settle for something far better than the presidency -- his own show on fox. so the "talk back" question today -- is cain able to go the distance? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your responses later this hour. >> okay. are you going to run that clip again that -- >> it's funny. it was "letterman." >> it was terrible to laugh. it is one of those uncomfortable moments. it's funny but should i be laughing at this? it's terrible. >> when that red stuff shoots out of herman cain's eyes, i'm sorry, that's funny. >> all right, carol, thanks so much. >>> here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering over the next hour. first, president obama meets with south korea's president at the white house. we'll bring a joint news conference to you live. >>> and how w

we will finish off with roger simon of politico to compare and contrast to the political campaigns of previous democratic presidents. that will be the program tomorrow. thank you very much for joining us today on "washington journal." we will see you again tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> sunday on c-span, "newsmakers," buck mckeon at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern. and "road to the white house," michele bachmann will be in new hampshire. part of a three day campaign tour. >> c-span radio is another way to keep up with politics and public affairs, offering a mix of the most relevant he thins from the three c-span television networks and -- events from the three c-span television networks. listen to us at 90.1 fm and on ackberryne an d bl apps. now in our 15th year. >> israeli ambassador to the u.s., michael oren,

but she was working at the club that nick and i and roger were working in. we kind of got the band going, but we didn't have a front man. so we had the name and we had a sound -- >> actually, we'd split up and she came to me and she said, simon, i think you should go and meet these guys. and i went, i thought, okay, well. and then i turned up one day and we hit it off immediately. it was -- we recognized kindred spirits in the way we dressed, in what music we liked, in everything. >> you were new romantics. >> we were post-punks at that point. there wasn't such a thing as new romantics yet. >> but you evolved into new romantics? or you never really crossed that barrier? >> it was something a little opportunistic about that, i think. there was an article in "sounds" about spandau ballet calling them the new romantics. we didn't know what they sounded like but reading the article it sounded like they were doing a similar thing to what we were doing. so we called up the journalist who'd written the piece and said we're doing something like that, you should come

marie had a 3-year-old daughter, simone, and was studying fashion design. >> when these ladies entered the room, people stopped. people looked. people paid attention. they were very, very beautiful. >> valerie yap says she normally would have gone out with sharon and marie the night of the murders. but decided not to that night. she says they all used to laugh about sharon's ability to talk her way out of just about anything. >> she was such a charming person. and she was so beautiful and men were -- they were mesmerized that we used to joke about it, that if somebody came to rob us, he would end up walking away with her phone number just to get rid of him, you know? and he would be happy with just her phone number. >> you thought, wow, sharon couldn't talk her way out of this one. she was mentally tortured before she died. not just she, not just her, but sharon and the other man. i mean, that was mental, mental torture. and then that was unforgivable. >> when margaret edwards filed a missing person's report 12 hours after she expected her daughter marie to come home, she could not hav